The existing method of washing out the interior and exterior of the cement and mortar transport pipes and hoses used in pumping these materials at construction sites is difficult and creates an excessive amount of hazardous waste. During the construction of multi-story buildings, the cleaning process is increasingly more difficult where environmental restrictions and disposal of hazardous waste presents very difficult problems, and that there are a greater number of pipes or hoses and other equipment that requires cleaning, than on residential projects.
The saving factor is that these types of slurry materials can be pumped back into the empty delivery trucks and reused. Getting rid of and containing the slurry materials used in the cleaning process in the past has been a major problem. In the construction of high-rise buildings, the use of rigid pipes or various dimensions that are ten feet long with connecting couplings, are often used to pump the construction materials to the upper elevations. In other cases, flexible hoses of varying diameters are used for pumping the construction materials. In all cases, the pipes and hoses and other equipment from large articles down to small items like shovels and trowels, must be cleaned immediately at the completion of the process, especially the pipes and hoses because the thin slurry material will harden very rapidly within them and be impossible to remove later. This type of construction equipment is very costly and not easily replaced. There is a need for a portable unit that can easily be transported and moved through doorways, and even to the upper floors of high-rise buildings that will accelerate the cleaning process along with reducing the quantity of water used.
This application provides a unique portable system of washing out and cleaning the inside and outside of pipes and hoses along with the other equipment used when dealing with cement and mortar at a construction site where the residue and water must be contained and removed from the site. The residue from this process is considered a hazardous waste and cannot be allowed to go into the drainage system.
Many innovations for cleaning the equipment used in the cement business have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. These patents exemplify the need for containing and removing this hazardous waste through out the entire process. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present design as hereinafter contrasted. The following is a summary of those prior art patents most relevant to this application at hand, as well as a description outlining the difference between the features of the Cement Equipment Washout System and the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,005 of Edward F. Rodger describes a new and improved apparatus for washing soiled tubular members in a cleaning fluid wherein the apparatus includes a cleaning fluid tank for containing the cleaning fluid therein, support members with the cleaning fluid tank for supporting the tubular member between positions in and out of the cleaning fluid tank, along with directing means for directing cleaning fluid against the soiled tubular member and collection members with the cleaning fluid tank for collecting sludge formed during the washing of the tubular member.
This patent describes a highly efficient apparatus for washing soiled tubular members with a cleaning fluid that would not work efficiently to clean the inside of pipes used to pump cement or mortar. Any cleaning fluid other than water could not be returned to the delivery truck. It has not been described as a portable unit and could not be easily transported to the upper levels of high rise buildings under construction
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,740 of Richard D. DeBoer tells of a system and method for reclaiming unused portions of mixed cement by adding a chemical agent to retard the hydration state of the cement for up to several days. When the stored cement is again desired for use, a chemical accelerating agent is added to the mixed cement that returns the hydration state to normal, once again allowing the cement to set. The cement can then be poured at a construction site or alternatively, the stored cement can be added to a new batch of newly mixed cement before pouring.
This patent tells of a system and method for reclaiming unused portions of mixed cement but does not provide a lightweight portable system for washing cement tools and equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,065 of Foyster G. Bell et al. discloses an invention that provides systems, methods and apparatus for cleaning a mixing truck by removing and recycling any non-delivered material. In one exemplary system, the invention is preferably attached to a mixing truck having at least one delivery chute and a loading hopper. A rail is configured to be attached to the mixing truck so that the bottom end is near a ground surface and the top end is near the loading hopper. The system further comprises a canister that is movable between the delivery chute and the rail. A lifting mechanism is movably attached to the rail and includes a securing device so that the lifting mechanism may secure and transport the canister along the rail. In this manner, material remaining in the delivery chute may be washed into the canister when positioned below the chute. The canister may then be moved near the rail and secured to the lifting mechanism that in turn transports the canister to the loading hopper where the contents may be emptied.
This patent discloses an invention that provides systems, methods and apparatus for cleaning a mixing truck by removing and recycling any non-delivered material. Although this patent illustrates the need for recycling non-deliverable material which includes the slurry from the cleaning processes it does not provide a portable device that can be moved to remote locations including high-rise buildings for the cleaning of the concrete or mortar covered equipment used on the job sites.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,277 of C. Marvin Barry describes an apparatus for containing and filtering rinse water, sediment and aggregate resulting from washing the hopper and discharge chute components of a cement truck at a construction site following use. The apparatus comprises a container removably mountable on the end of the discharge chute, the container having an open upper end, a screen removably positionable within the container and an outlet located in a lower portion of the container below the screen. The apparatus further includes a pump mountable on the truck, the pump having a suction hose extending between the container outlet and the pump, and a discharge hose extending from the pump to an open end discharging into the mixing drum. When the pump is operating, rinse water and relatively small particle size sediment flushed down the chute and into the container is automatically conveyed through the suction and discharge hoses into the mixing drum. The screen has openings approximately ¼ inches in diameter to trap relatively large particle size aggregate thereby preventing clogging of the pump fittings. The apparatus avoids the need for a designated truck wash-off station at the construction site and prevents contamination of the site or adjoining waterways with cementitious debris.
This patent describes another apparatus illustrating the need for containing and filtering rinse water, sediment and aggregate resulting from washing the hopper and discharge chute components of cement trucks at a construction site but does not provide the unique portability of the Cement Equipment Washout System.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,007 of Cataldo S. Arbore tells of a device enabling the timely removal and subsequent recycling of residues remaining in a pouring chute through which the load of a cement from a mixing drum of a mobile delivery vehicle was discharged. A strainer on a movable arm attached to the vehicle is placed under the chute to receive an effluent which results from spraying the inside of the nozzle with water. Solid particulates are retained by the strainer and slurry which emerges from the strainer is pumped into the mixing drum, allowing the separated materials to be recycled when the vehicle returns to its base.
This patent tells of a device enabling the timely removal and subsequent recycling of residues remaining in a pouring chute of a delivery truck. It does not deal with a portable device that can be used in the process of cleaning cement and mortar pumping equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,506,672 of Joseph J. Manno is directed at a cement slurry collection chute basin that incorporates a leak proof means, no matter what the size or condition of the end of the concrete flop chute. By using a forward angled entry trough with a square large basin area having the attachment hooks in a forward position, the weight is put in the rear and the forward edge of the device is held forward of the end flange and tight against the lower surface of the concrete chute. A screen separates the aggregate from the cement slurry, which flows out a drain orifice in the bottom. An alternate embodiment is constructed from “half-pipe” housing. This alternate embodiment cement slurry collection chute basin will be much more efficient and economical to manufacture because of the “half-pipe” construction and the ease with which it could be welded and fabricated into a form.
This patent of the individual making application for the present device does not deal with the unique light weight portable system that can be adapted to wash out the inside and outside of large diameter cement transport pipes and hoses as well as smaller hand tools. The unique feature is that the Cement Equipment Washout System is a lightweight portable system that can be transported to remote locations as well as up into high-rise buildings.
None of these previous efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the Cement Equipment Washout System. The present design achieves its intended purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, with the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and by employing readily available materials.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the in detail it is to be understood that the design is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The Cement Equipment Washout System is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present design. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.